Albanian entrepreneurs in Italy - The entrepreneurial process from migrants to entrepreneurs

Abstract

International migrations have the capacity to generate a multitude of material, social and cultural resources, capable of making the migrant the absolute protagonist. Notwithstanding the impact and the importance of Albanians migrants entrepreneurs, researches carried out until know on the nature, scope and development of Albanians entrepreneurs are scarce. The research design of this thesis, based on a quantitative and qualitative method analysis, has the aim to study how Albanian entrepreneurs, people that migrated from a politic and economic instable country, are now entrepreneurs. After statistical data (e.g., ISTAT) are represented and analysed and historical data on the history of Albania and on migration are collected, narrative-biographical interviews to Albanian entrepreneurs and a semi-structured interview to AssoAlbania (an association of Albanian entrepreneurs in Italy) are conducted. The thesis is divided in four chapters. The first chapter studies migration from an historical perspective, giving relevance to the main historical events that have characterised the background of the today’s Albanian entrepreneurs and the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that have influenced them and other migrants to migrate. The second chapter studies the migration situation from another perspective, giving relevance to the today Albania’s diaspora, the role of integration, the employability of Albanian migrants in Italy and, the returned migrants. The third chapter analyses the entrepreneurial situation in Albania and mostly in Italy. Starting from a literature analysis, the chapter shows what the terms entrepreneurship and transnational entrepreneurship mean and describe the studies conducted until now. The research continues with the analyses of the Albania’s entrepreneurial environment. The chapter analyses, then, Italy’s entrepreneurial environment, describing the reasons behind the choice of migrants to invest in Italy. The last part of the chapter studies the role of network and capital for migrant entrepreneurs, showing the importance of network in collecting financial resources and in shaping the labour market of migrants. The fourth chapter concentrates on the interviews conducted to three Albanian entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of Albanian origin who have opened businesses in Italy, specifically in Venice, in the Veneto region and to Nikolin Gjeloshi, one of the first Albanian entrepreneurs in Italy and the president of AssoAlbania, an association of Albanian entrepreneurs that was created to promote entrepreneurial initiative and coordinate activities for integration and development. The chapter ends with the conclusion of the thesis and with the main observations and key points that emerged through the conduction of this study, in particular: role of integration, role of network and recognition and development of opportunities.